The Art of the Lute

"The first time I picked up a lute was at a local music store," says Ronn McFarlane. "I'd been studying guitar, and I'd already learned a lot about the lute, so I was surprised to discover how awkward it was to hold and how disappointing and difficult it was to try to play. Very frustrating, like a foreign thing. "But I wasn't dissuaded. I found a way to buy one and worked with it and gradually it became comfortable, comfortable to the point where it became like an extension of my body. And that's the ideal with any instrument." "At the time I switched to lute, my guitar repertory was loading up more and more with Renaissance pieces, which I loved. Also, there was something about the lute itself that had a magnetic pull. It seemed to be a natural instrument for me."